David Barton

 There are many today who dispute this fact. Rather than acknowledge that Christianity played an important role in the formation of this nation, or that there is a deep and rich religious heritage attached to the Capitol building, or that most of our Founding Fathers were strongly and openly religious, they instead claim just the opposite. For example, one prominent historian amazingly asserts, “The Founding Fathers were at most deists.” And in an article entitled “America’s UnChristian Beginnings,” the writer forcefully claims that “The early presidents and patriots were generally deists or Unitarians, believing in some form of impersonal Providence but rejecting the divinity of Jesus and the relevance of the Bible.” Another author similarly charges, “[M]ost of our other patriarchs were at best deists, [not] believing in . . . the God of the Old and New Testaments.” And the title of one book seems to say it all: The Godless Constitution.

The reason that such absurd accusations often go unrefuted by the average citizen is that most Americans don’t know who our Founders were. For example, in the picture of the signing of the Constitution (this picture will be discussed in detail later in a different room in the Capitol) how many of the 39 signers can the average citizen identify? Which one is Gouverneur Morris? Or William Paterson? Or John Dickinson? Although each of these signers played crucial roles, most Americans today have never heard of them. Similarly, in the picture of the signers of the Declaration, which one is Stephen Hopkins? Or Samuel Huntington? Or Richard Henry Lee? If citizens don’t know who our Founders were, when they clearly can’t address the question of whether or not they were religious. 

In earlier years, charges of the non-religious nature of our Founders were immediately dismissed because citizens knew about our individual Founders. For example, the textbook from 1848 pictured on the right 11 (recently reprinted), was used in classrooms for decades. It provided the signing of the constitution a brief biography of each of the 56 signers of the Declaration and was quite candid about the strong Christian faith of so many of them.

 In a return to the practice of these earlier schoolbooks, let’s examine some of the religious beliefs held by Founders depicted, for example, in the painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

 Realize that every individual in the painting had an impact on the Declaration of Independence, even though not everyone pictured actually signed it. Why? Because even though Congress approved the Declaration on July 4th, 1776, it was then signed only by the President and Secretary of Congress. The final engrossed version of the declaration was not signed by most representatives until August 2nd; and during that intervening month, some who had voted for the Declaration were called away to the service of their country before they could sign.

For example, George Clinton voted for the final draft of the Declaration on July 4th, but before he could sign, he was called to assume military leadership in New York. And even though Robert Livingston was on the five-man committee charged with writing the Declaration, he was recalled to serve in his State legislature before he could sign the very document he had helped draft. George Clinton and Robert Livingston, even though they ultimately did not sign the Declaration, are both in the Rotunda painting of the signing of the Declaration and each is so significant that he has been honored with a statue at the Capitol.

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